A Blessed Heart Ch3
by mcguinneapig
Summary: Continuation of the first two chapters already published.


**Chapter 3**

_ Ok, now you're just being pathetic. _"Oh, you just shut up." Lucidity sighed aggrievedly and continued walking. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice the person firmly planted in her path.

Why am I such a pushover, especially when it comes to you-know-who? It isn't fair! What makes him so great, that I can't even think of anything or anyONE besides him? Her musings were crudely interrupted when she came up against something she at first thought to be a brick wall. That thought was shot down when she immediately felt a pair of very familiar hands on her arms, keeping her from bouncing off him and falling.

"Well, hello to you too." Lucidity looked up into smiling green eyes, warmed with laughter and affection. She liked to think that the warmth she saw in those eyes was for her, but she didn't dare believe herself. Not worth the disappointment, she thought dejectedly. Coming back from that sad place, Lucidity became intensely aware of Ryan's hands on her. She couldn't seem to be able to draw a decent breath, for every time she tried all she could smell was Ryan. _Ugh, why does he have to smell mouth-watering on top of everything else? Couldn't he smell like a pig or something to offset the attraction?_

"Hey, Luc. Earth to Lucidity, hello." Ryan gently shook her, trying to draw her attention back to him. Dropping his arms when she finally focused on him, he took a tentative step away, aware of her discomfort with his nearness. Why she was so skittish all of a sudden, Ryan didn't know, though he had a good idea that it had to do with him and something he'd done.

Finding a measure of relief in the space he'd offered, Lucidity took a step to get around Ryan to continue to her locker, her eyes never leaving his. He fell in step beside her as she went. "So, how's Julio?"

"Huh?" Lucidity was completely lost, having no grasp on the situation.

A small, knowing smile curved Ryan's mouth. "Julio, your cat. Did your dad feed him?" He was laughing at her, making it known that he knew she hadn't really been worried about her cat the other day. A blush rose up neck, suffusing her cheeks with embarassing heat. Ryan laughed, making it worse.

"He was all taken care of already, so I didn't need to worry in the first place." Even though she knew it was pointless, she felt the need to continue the lie, if for no other reason than to preserve her own flimsy pride. She thumped Ryan on the chest for good measure when he continued to laugh.

By now, they'd reached her classroom, having already stopped to get her materials for class. Lucidity went in and placed her things on the desk she normally occupied for first period, the second desk in the row closest to the windows. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt someone tickle her waist from behind. Letting out an uncontrollable giggle, Lucidity turned and back pedaled to avoid Ryan, who was grinning evilly, like a little boy with the cookie jar in his sights.

"You just say away form ME!" The last word was a squeal as Ryan lunged for her and she dodged, narrowly avoiding the plant in the front of the classroom. As she scrambled to escape, Lucidity couldn't help the smile of joy that seemed to well up from inside her heart. It was stupid, but she loved nothing more than playing with Ryan when he got like this. It always lead to his hands on her in some way.

"You cannot escape me, my sweet" Ryan said in a poor impression of a Dracula accent. As he continued to stalk her, other students began filing into the room, forcing Lucidity to turn often to avoid any collisions, which took her focus off Ryan. The third time she turned to check if the way was clear, Ryan made his move, pouncing on her like a jungle cat. "Ha! I have you now."

For what seemed like forever, Ryan continued to tickle and torment her until she couldn't laugh because she had no breath left. He was merciless and thorough, finding all her ticklish spots. Lucidity didn't care that they were being stared at, she didn't hear the occasional person comment that they needed to quit flirting. Giving one last burst of laughter, Lucidity fell foward, forcing Ryan to catch her. He collapsed wih laughter, taking her to the floor with him as he went down.

"I hate you, you know." Lucidity remarked tiredly as Ryan laughed. She'd never heard him laugh so much in such a short time. Part of her was worried that he was trying too hard to be happy, that something was wrong that he was trying to get his mind off of. The other part of her was just happy to see him smile, to see the happiness that overcame his features when he glanced over at her. She'd sat up and was wiping off invisible dirt from her pant leg. "You are an evil person who can make me laugh and at the same time make me want to cry."

That stopped the laughter. Ryan looked at her again, noticing the circles under her eyes that told him she hadn't slept a wink the night before. As though she couldn't stand him seeing her the way she looked now, she turned away and pushed herself to her feet, trudging over to the desk and sitting down with a sigh. Ryan sat up as well, then stood and walked over and sat next to her, ignoring the comments of the other people in the room.

"Luc, do you want to go to a movie this weekend?" Ryan voice was light. He purposely avoided pusuing her earlier comment. He didn't want to fight with her again, he just wanted to keep her smiling. He didn't know what was going on between them lately, but he did know that he didn't want to lose his best friend.

"I guess so. Should be fun." Lucidity replied absently, not really hearing him. She'd curled into herself mentally, not able to deal with all the emotions beating at her. She feared she was dangerously close to a break down, and prayed that the day would go by quickly so that Ryan wouldn't see her despair.

"Alright people. Let's get this over with. Today we'll be..." Lucidity tuned out the teacher, though she silently agreed wholeheartedly with his sentement. _Please, let this day be over quickly._


End file.
